The Storm
by Ghetto-Kaiba09
Summary: This is never what Yuma imagined the end would be like.


Hey, readers! I'm taking a little time away from "Hopeless" to bring you a fic that I've had in my head for a little while now. I hope you enjoy it!

…

…

"Welcome, Astral. Have you brought them?"

"What? Oh, yes."

"Good. Bring them here."

Astral smiled slightly at a figure strikingly similar to himself. He turned his back towards the other alien and motioned with his hand for the child in question to come forward.

"This is Yuma."

Yuma looked up at his partner's possible twin with shy eyes. When he sensed no danger, he smiled and waved awkwardly, shuffling his feet.

"Greetings, Yuma. Where is it you come from?""Earth. Yuma comes from Earth." Astral answered for the boy. The other being nodded slowly, absorbing the information.

"I have heard many things about Earth."

Yuma's glance swapped back and forth between both beings, unsure of how to involve himself in their conversation. He took the time to take in his surroundings. The wooden door behind them had closed, the one that had lead him to this realm: the Astral World. The first two times Yuma had entered said door had been to reveal and save Astral, but now that all 99 numbers had been collected, it was time for Astral to bring Yuma home to his world.

He had a mission, Astral explained. Yuma held the power of Zexal, the power responsible for saving the Astral World. Yuma took a deep breath and was surprised that the air here was not toxic to him. He looked up towards the sky, or at least what he assumed was the sky. The Astral World's sky was blue, similar to Earth's, but much deeper. Much less…inviting. The clouds were mixed shades of gray and sifted slowly through the air.

Yuma turned his head in all directions, searching for the sun he remembered seeing in his and Astral's earlier days. Some of the clouds parted overhead to reveal the blue sun. Blue. Everything was so _blue_. But it was beautiful. To Yuma, anyway. Nothing like Earth. There was no moon.

"Does he speak?"Yuma snapped out of his daze as the other Astral being continued conversing with Astral.

"Yes, he does. Yuma, say hello!" Astral encouraged.

"Um…hi?" Yuma began nervously. He extended a hand towards the being but quickly lowered it when the gesture was misunderstood.

"It's called a handshake. It's how people greet each other where I come from." Yuma explained.

The other being nodded. "I see." He shook Yuma's hand and smiled down at the boy.

"Thank you for coming."

Yuma nodded, still unsure of his purpose here. Astral had also been unsure, as he had stated when Yuma asked him. Yuma hoped this 'mission' would go smoothly.

"She shall be here soon." The other being warned. Astral cocked his head.

"Who?""Red."

"Who's that?" Yuma asked.

"Red is the queen of the Barian World. Word must have gotten to her somehow about the arrival of the Chosen One." The alien looked down towards Yuma.

"Me?" Yuma pointed towards himself. The being nodded in response.

"I see you are unprepared."

Yuma swallowed and looked up towards Astral, hoping his friend knew what was going. Yuma's anxiety grew when Astral merely shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Astral asked.

The being sighed irritably and rubbed at his golden eyes.

"What do I _mean_? _Look_ at him!" Yuma ran his hands over his figure and grew angry."What's _wrong_ with me?""You are not ready to fight!"

"Fight?" Yuma cried. "Fight…fight _who_? What are you _talking_ about?"The other being did not reply and merely turned his back towards Yuma and began calling for his associates. Three more Astral beings came forward, all exuding the same appearance yet with subtle differences. The one on the left had a much more elongated face, the middle one was a bit more stout, and the right one had very effeminate eyes.

"Aman, please take the boy to the chambers and activate the transformation. There isn't much time…" The being instructed to the left-most alien, who bowed in response and nodded, reaching out to take Yuma's hand. Yuma hesitantly grasped it and looked towards Astral with a worried expression. Astral leant the boy a gentle gaze to try and reassure him, although he also was aloof as to what was going on.

"Where are you taking him?" Astral asked once the boy was out of sight.

The being frowned. "Did you not see him? He is not in Zexal form. This is the only way he will be able to fight Red."

"Yu-Yuma's not a fighter…!" Astral tried to protest but was ignored as all the other beings scattered. Astral caught up with one of them, the effeminate one, and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"What is it, Astral?" The being asked, her soft voice confirming her gender.

"Please tell me they're not going to hurt Yuma…!" Astral begged.

The girl waved her hands in reassurance. "They just need him in his Zexal mode so he may battle properly, that's all.""But Yuma needs _me_ in order to activate Zexal!" Astral argued.

The female being shook her head. "Not here. In his world, yes, but here Zexal remains inside of Yuma and he may use it whenever he wants."The girl turned to leave, leaving behind a very confused and worried Astral.

"Wait!" He called. "What is your name?"The girl looked back at him and smiled.

"Ava."

…

Yuma sat in a chair inside of a cold, dank, damp room. For a realm outside of Earth, the Astral World still had may earthly things. This surprised Yuma. The Astral World almost seemed as though it was the equivalent to castles in the sky; old, worn-down castles in a dark blue sky. Creepy, yet fascinating.

Yuma gazed at his reflection in a make-shift mirror: a broken slab of glass propped up against one of the stone walls. He could hardly believe the reflection of his Zexal form staring back at him. It was the first time he had ever seen it. His pink hair was framed by golden spikes that matched his yellowed eyes. The red and white bodysuit clung to him like wet newspaper. He couldn't believe how quickly the other Astral being had performed the transformation; a little bit of magic and…bam! Here he was. He turned around to face said being.

"Aman, right? That was what that other guy called you…" Yuma questioned uncertainly.

The addressee nodded. "My name is Aman, yes, you are correct."

Yuma smiled and nodded, turning back around to admire himself again.

"Thank you. That was much easier than last time!"

Aman chuckled and leaned over his shoulder.

"Red will be here soon. I hope you are ready for her."

Yuma ran a hand over the green tattoo on his cheek. Before he felt frightened, but now…now he was overwhelmed by a strange rush of power. He felt invincible. He felt fearless. He felt confident. All of these qualities were the polar opposite of his normal personality. Yuma really liked this feeling.

"Yeah. I can take her!" He said with a laugh. Aman patted him on the shoulder and lead him out of the room.

…

The Astral beings walked like an army towards the descending ship off in the distance. The ship carried the warriors from the Barian World, along with their queen, Red. Yuma followed behind the beings loyally, ready to defend them at all costs. He didn't know them as well as he knew Astral, but he assumed that they all shared similar personalities.

The door to the ship lowered like a drawbridge and a herd of red-skinned beings with black horns exited, followed closely by a petite yet hefty female with bright green eyes.

"So," She called towards the Astral's. "I hear you finally got yourself a warrior."

The Astral being who had greeted Yuma, who Yuma learned was named Aloke, stepped forward.

"That is correct. You are no longer a threat to our world. We now have a chance to defeat you. Our Chosen One has arrived, and he possesses the power of Zexal, the power to destroy you!" Aloke called to the female, whom Yuma assumed was the queen.

Red laughed. "Ha! We'll see about that. Where is this 'Chosen One'?"Yuma bravely marched forward and stood next to Aloke.

"Here."

Red scoffed. "Hello, _little one_."

Yuma glared daggers at her, his hands clenching into fists. He suddenly noticed Aman approaching him from behind and handing him a sword.

'_Unicorn spear_?' Yuma thought to himself, remembering the sword Hope had used in his duel with Kaito. He turned to Aman, who nodded at him.

Red turned towards her army and gave a signal, and within seconds, a huge charcoal-colored dragon emerged from behind the spaceship. Yuma gulped. He had to fight_ that_?

"Attack!" Red screamed from the sidelines and Yuma jolted with fear, launching himself out of the way as a fireball shot towards him.

Yuma quickly scurried off the ground and gripped his sword firmly. The dragon lashed out a claw and knocked the boy down easily but Yuma was able to recover, slashing his sword across the beast's leg and leaving a rather gaping laceration. The dragon growled and raised its leg, preparing to stomp the boy into the ground. Yuma ran as fast as he knew how to avoid the blow, but the ground quaked as soon as the monster's foot hit the ground and Yuma lost his balance, landing flat on his face.

"Owww!" Yuma whined to himself, sitting up and rubbing his bleeding nose. As soon as he noticed the dragon coming in for another attack, he rolled out of the way and struck its other leg before focusing his powers and jumping onto the beast's back, stabbing his sword deep into the monster's skin.

The dragon roared in pain and thrashed its wings wildly, throwing Yuma back onto the ground. Astral clenched a hand over his heart with worry over the idea of his beloved friend being injured, but was relieved when Yuma got back on his feet again. Ava rubbed at Astral's back reassuringly.

"Don't worry," She said. "He can do this."

Astral smiled and nodded.

The dragon lashed down in an attempt to grab Yuma with its teeth, but luckily, it missed and Yuma was able to get another hit in. Blood splattered all over the stony ground. Yuma brought up a leg and kicked the monster as hard as he could in the jaw, which thanks to Zexal, created quite a powerful blow. Yuma looked towards the Astral beings and winked and they all smiled in response. The dragon roared in agony as Yuma continued taking shots at its legs with his sword and his body.

Within seconds, the beast collapsed to the ground amidst a pile of dust. Yuma threw his sword into the air in victory as the Astral beings cheered. Yuma was about to approach them until the dragon made its final attack, thrashing a clawed arm out at him and knocking him backwards, cutting open his stomach and causing him to hit his head against the hard ground. With one last roar, the dragon died, and the air grew quiet.

The Astral beings panicked when they realized Yuma was no longer moving and several of them ran to help him. They stopped in shock as the Barian beings got to the boy first, Red perched over top of him.

"Well, well, well…" She said. "You put up a good fight, little one, but now you must come with _me_…"

The Astral beings watched in horror as the Barian warriors picked Yuma up and loaded him back into their spaceship.

…

Yuma woke up to the feeling of a clawed hand prodding against his wounded stomach. A quick lift of his head confirmed this as several members of the Barian army observed a now naked Yuma. His red armor and white bodysuit had been removed, but apparently Zexal power was still intact as green lightning bolts still adorned his skin. Yuma began breathing harshly, panicking, not knowing where he was or recognizing any of the beings surrounding him.

Red ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"Ah, aren't you just the most lovely little thing. You are from Earth, correct? I have heard many good things about your people."Yuma eyed the queen fearfully as she began running her clammy hands over his body. Over _all parts_ of his body. Yuma began to tear up as she neared his genitals, trying to push her hand away. He was slapped harshly by a bystander. Her claws dug into the most sensitive area of his body and Yuma screamed.

"You're not so tough after all, are you?" Red mocked, her grip on his body tightening. Her claws scratched their way up his thigh, tracing one of the greens marks implanted there. She was fascinated by the blood that exited the wound, dipping her fingertips in it and tasting it.

Yuma's tears ran like a river down his cheeks and he lay himself flat against the ground again, the hands continuing to prod and invade his body. Yuma tried to convince himself that this was all just a terrible dream and soon he would awaken. As soon as that thought was over, he passed out.

…

Yuma was unsure as to how much time he had spent now in the Barian World. Everyday was different, but everyday was torture. The Barian people refused to feed him. They refused to clothe him. They refused him water, a bed, entertainment. Yuma was confined to a tiny cell, his right hand chained to the crimson-colored stone wall.

On this particular day, Yuma surprisingly had been allowed to take a walk around the prison he was trapped in. The Barian people figured there'd be nowhere for him to go anyway, so they might as well let the boy wander.

This was the first time Yuma had seen the outdoors of the Barian World. It was just as he expected: red. Red everywhere. Just like the Astral World was blue, this world was a realm encased in various shades of red. The sky was a deep crimson, the clouds were white, and they sun was a tender shade of pink. The ground was a plateau of red rocks that reminded Yuma of Mars.

Off in the distance, he spied a cliff extending off into the sunset. He smiled, for some reason, and walked towards it. He felt the wind increase the closer he got to the edge and then out of nowhere he felt the wetness of rain. He held out his palm and laughed as the tiny drops tickled his hand. Yuma had always loved the rain; he and Astral would always take walks in the rain, and Astral really enjoyed this even though he couldn't feel it. The rain had a calming effect on Yuma.

A flash of lightning went off, the shape of the strike resembling the golden spikes of Yuma's Zexal-morphed hair. Yuma laughed at this comparison. He laughed again at the loud crash that followed the strike. The wind continued to blow against his bare body and Yuma leaned his head back and took a deep breath. This was the only moment he had ever felt happy in what felt like the years he had spent in the Barian World. He never would've thought he'd get such joy out of a storm.

"You there!" A voice called in the distance. "Enough of that, you must return to your cell at once. It's the queen's orders!"

Yuma ignored the Barian being and continued laughing to himself, spinning around in the swell of rain and hail that surrounded him. Thunder and lighting continued across the red sky. In an instant, the storm passed, and Yuma felt sad again. He felt all of his energy drain. He truly believed that Zexal was the only thing keeping him alive at this point.

But not anymore.

Yuma silently thanked the Astral beings for their gift to him and walked towards the edge of the cliff, his arms out.

He never felt himself hit the ground.

…

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Okay, so, what the hell did I just write, you may be wondering. Well…I don't know! I know it's kinda sad and creepy and weird but hey, who doesn't like sad and creepy and weird, right? And yes, I'll be getting another chapter for "Hopeless" out sometime this week. Thanks for reading and I'll see y'all around!


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